El Laberinto del Fauno - Pan's Labyrinth

It is nothing that i expected instead of the light hearted fantasy film i was expecting(which i was still expecting to enjoy) you get a very dark, violent realistic movie that sugar coats nothing. The acting superb, the story telling is equally impressive and the soundtrack and special effects are spot on. There isn't much i really want to say about the story being as it would be very easy to spoil one of the many unexpected twists in this movie. If you are fine with dark and violent movies you really should consider watching this because it is nothing less than a master piece.

A melancholy fable set in the chaos of Civil War-era Spain. A young girl escapes her oppressive surroundings by entering a world of seemingly endless possibilities - a world of fairies and fauns and kings and princesses. Against a relatively normal backdrop, the story would probably falter but the fascist backdrop of Franco's regime makes this girl's wish to escape all the more compelling. Without revealing much, she finds her new world almost as demanding as the one she's already in. The backdrop is impressive, if not totally compelling - it seems almost rude to question her sanity given what she sees and hears every day. You root for a girl whose fate is all too clear and, by extension, what she believes in. Through the mystery of the labyrinth and all the creatures therein, you find the divisions of the Civil War and the truth of the main character therein.

I Introduced Pan's Labyrinth to my 17 year old nephew who loves heavy metal and horror flicks.It was cool to bond over the artistry, mythical imagination and goodness of morels surrounded in a dark world.He was super stoked to go to The Guillermo del Toro exhibit, 'At Home With Monsters'. It helped me convey the need to express artfully, thoughtfully and to recognize beauty in darkness without mindless violence.I can't get into all of his stuff, but Pan's Labyrinth is where it's at.I do not recommend this for young kiddosThere are parts I couldn't watch and were truly graphic.

he buscado por esta pelicula por mucho tiempo y por fin lo vi. espanol es mi segunda idioma y habian algunos palabras que no entendi pero disfrute la historia. no se si los criaturas son creadas por los efectos especiales o son disfrazes en los cuales actores se vestan pero fueron unicos y mysteriosos. por mi parte he sufrido mucho en el curso de mi vida hasta entonces las historias tragicas me callen bien. a veces las cosas no salgan bien, esta es la vida y lo importante es que permanecemos bien nosotros mismos. bien hecho Guillermo del Toro!I've searched for this video for quite a while and now I've finally been able to see it. Spanish is my second language, there were some words I didn't understand but I enjoyed the story. I don't know if the creatures were created by special effects or if they were disguises in which the the actors dressed, but they were unique and mysterious. I've suffered quite a bit in my life and it's caused me to empathize well with tragic stories. Sometimes things don't go the way you'd wish, this is what life is like and the important thing is that we stay good people ourselves. Good job Guillermo del Toro!

I saw this movie for the first time when I was like 14, and at the time it honestly kind of terrified me. Some of the creatures and the violence just really threw me off because I wasn't expecting that. But then several years later I watched it again and was utterly enthralled, and every so often I revisit it. The way Del Toro meshes the violence and despair of 1944 Spain with Ofelia's fairy-tale world is simply astounding... and it will leave you crying by the end of the film. I can see why this film had a 22 minute standing ovation when it premiered at Cannes. I don't know what else to say about it other than WATCH IT!

Not even sure what to say here - sort of left me speechless. The special effects are awesome, the acting is superb and the story itself is scary and touching yet also sad. There are some very violent scenes and not for the weak hearted - definitely not a movie children should watch. Even though it's subtitled, you don't miss a thing reading the lines.

One of my favorite movies of all time. Del Toro did a phenomenal job with this movie, blending fantasy and reality seamlessly. I enjoyed how he was able to successfully capture a little girl's innocence among this world of monsters, some worst in reality than those in fantasy. If you ever get the chance to see Guillermo Del Toro's travelling art exhibition, it is an amazing experience!

Magnificent movie on every level. From the art direction, to the creature effects, to the incredible story, to the superb performances. This is a nearly perfect film. Dark subject matter, so not for little kids, but the script is a finely crafted masterpiece that will leave you wanting to watch this a second time just to make sure you didn't miss anything.

This film is in Spanish. It has subtitles. It's not for kids. It's appalling looking through the 'reviews' on here to find the amount of 1 star reviews for people that complain they didn't know it was in Spanish, or they didn't know they'd have to read subtitles. Some guy gives it 1 star because he played the directors commentary instead of the correct audio track and had to contend with "some guy talking all over the top of it." Lots of 1 star reviews from people who sat down to watch it with their kids too. Amuse yourself, have a browse through them.This film is an outstanding work, with a multi-layered plot that fuses the grim everyday life of a young girl with a mystical place she can escape to. Very very good stuff.

From Guillermo Del Toro.Set in Fascist Spain during the second World War, Franco is in power and The Resistance is trying to make life hard.When Ofelia's Mother marries Captain Vidal and gets pregnant with his Son, they have to move to the Country to be near him. When they are arriving and Ofelia's Mother tells her to ask the Driver to stop because she is feeling sick, Ofelia finds a rock in the road, realises it comes from a Statue nearby she put it back thus setting in motion a chain of events that will lead Ofelia on a dangerous course.When they arrive at the Mill the Captain tells Ofelia it is the other hand that you put out to shake.....from that moment on Ofelia hates Capt. Vidal.Mercedes the Housekeeper has a Brother in the Resistance and the Dr., who is employed by Vidal, is also sympathetic to their cause.Pan's Labyrinth is the best film I have seen in ages. The SFX are incredible particularly Pan who is made to look so real that you can nearly imagine he is. The Fairies are well done too.This is one of the best films I have ever seen. I have played this many times but I never noticed that in Carmens room the headboard features a Faun.

The most unbelievable movies of all time in my view. The characters, The period the movie is set in, the plot, the ending, the fight against injustice, the indescribable love for a baby sibling, the loving mother, the evil stepdad, temptation and dark challenges that test our most inner resolve, the eyes that see. It all blends in perfectly. Some people are so insanely creative you wonder if they are even humans!!!! I love the makers of this piece of art. Amazing movie

I have done this before tonight and now i will again, i'm surprised that when i looked it up this movies genre was "horror" if it indeed is then i can tell you that its one of the more superiors in that genre, personally i would describe this as "artistic movie" in which genre it might also deserve that 5 stars as its a good example of one in my opinion. Also its only film that i remember to have enjoyed where they speak Spanish so even as that it has "something special"I just don't find anything bad to say about it so i guess i must rate it 5/5 ? sure maybe its a little cheesy sometimes, and there are some scenes where the actions of the characters annoyed me a lot, its an emotional rollercoaster but i think that is what artistic films are about?

This is studied in the A level Spanish course (it is Spanish language with English sub titles) hence bought for my daughter but we all sat down to watch it. I sent my 11 year old out of the room pretty quickly as it is quite dark and violent in places so not suitable for younger kids but it's a really clever and thought provoking film.

Absolutely dreadful film. It's like two different stories, neither of which is compelling and there is no link between them. Definitely in my list of worst films ever seen.

Pan's Labyrinth is one of those films that starts so well that you hope it will stay that good only for it to actually surprise you and constantly improve. It's a remarkably layered work about the importance of choice even in an emotional and political dictatorship and about the fictions and fantasies that sustain people through the worst circumstances. On the surface this appears to be little more than a more fantastic spin on The Spirit of the Beehive, sharing its post-Spanish Civil War setting as well as the broken family setting, but this is a far superior film in every way. Although marketed largely as a fantasy, its real power lies in the scenes set in the real world where Sergi Lopez's all too believable Fascist monster is mopping up the few remaining communist guerrillas in the hills while waiting for his sick wife to give birth to his son while her daughter from her first marriage tries to reassert her own identity rather than submit to the Captain's idea of family.The challenges of the mythical world are far less disturbing - or violent - than the real one, and it's all too easy to see why she wants to escape into the darkness of the labyrinth where at least the hope of something better exists. But then she's not the only one escaping into the imagination, as her mother sustains herself with a romanticised view of her meeting the captain that he has no interest in whatsoever. To him stories - even a part of his family history that has passed into local legend - exist only to be denied. Lopez's greatest sin isn't the pride that he admits to, or even that he is so pitiless, it's that he chooses to obey without question: the girl's small triumph is that she does not. And the triumphs in the film are generally small, quiet ones, where courage and fear go hand in hand, making the few acts of decency all the more important when they occur. There is one "saved by the cavalry" moment that at first doesn't convince but does prove to be there for a definite purpose that makes the ending all the more powerful.But while there's a lot going on underneath the surface of the film, it doesn't crush it with the weight of its ideas. It's directed with a visual assurance and, at times, playfulness that sweeps you along, sometimes with delight, sometimes with apprehension, but never simply for the sake of a nice shot or a neat special effect (most of which are incredibly well integrated for such a low budget feature). The performances are superb, with Lopez somehow managing to avoid turning his irredeemable character into a caricature: this is an evil without conscience that is all too recognisable. Javier Navarette's beautiful score is also adept at walking the fine line between magic and emotion without crossing the line into schmaltz.It's a remarkable film, the only new one that I saw last year that I'd genuinely say is one of the greatest of all time. It's been years since I was so affected by a movie that I had to see the very next show. Practically perfect and definitely one for the collection,especially in the two-disc edition which boasts surprisingly good extras that aren't just the usual self-congratlatory promo pieces.

Pan's Labyrinth is a real treasure.It follows the story of a young girl, Ofelia, who along with her heavily pregnant mother, are moving in with her mother's new partner, a captain of the military. The story is set during the Spanish Civil war and as such the story unfolds in and around the military outpost where the captain, Ofelia and her mother are stationed.Ofelia is an inquisitive youngster and she soon starts to see things around the camp that are not what you could call normal! Eventually she meets the Faun, Pan, who gives her three tasks and this forms the real backbone of the story. As Ofelia works through her tasks her situation becomes more desperate as her mother becomes ill during pregnancy and the camp comes under threat from rebels...The film is very dark and fantastical but with a more adult tone; it's a fantasy of awesome imagination but not for the smallest children. Which leads me on to my next point - the Captain is one of the best villains I've seen in ages. He's thoroughly ruthless and you see pretty early in the movie what he's capable of and from that point on you want him to get his!A mention should be made of the picture quality of this disc which is outstanding. I recently bought a full HD TV and have been enjoying watching my DVD collection upscaled through my PS3. I noticed as soon as this disc started to play that the picture was utterly superb - the best DVD I've yet seen in terms of picture. Having been getting used to bluray recently most DVD's are almost immediately recognisable as a DVD but Pan's Labyrinth looks awesome. It's a shame they didn't manage to get a DTS soundtrack on there too!Anyway, I don't want to reveal too much of the story which is very well told. It's nothing particularly new but is told so well it works wonderfully. If you like fanatsy you'll love this. There's a good twist at the end too.Thoroughly recommended.

Anyone liking magic realism, a genre popular in South American writing but here transplanted to Europe and to the bloody and brutal aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, will be won over immediately by this exquisitely crafted film. There are continual echoes in the film of the writings of Isabel Allende (or of a European counterpart such as Louis de Bernières). If they're for you, then so is this film, dare I say?Mixing magic and reality as per the genre you have in one story a fairy tale being told of a young girl who escapes into a private world away from the dreadful daily horrors of the real world at war. Her fantasy world contains all the creatures of mystery and the best that cgi and animatronics can offer. In the other real world the film tells the absolutely brutal story of a unit of the fascistic, utterly cruel Nationalist Army fighting the last stragglers of the defeated republican government `army' in the rain-drenched hills of Northern Spain.What has the film got? The cinematography is superlative and the palette of the film, the cold greys, greens, browns and blues of the `reality' and the warm golden oranges of the fantasy world, is entirely convincing. The acting from the mesmerizing performance of the child actress playing one of the leads - what a find she is! - (effectively the film has several 'leads') to that by the minor role players could serve as a template of how to act full-stop. The action itself is beautifully directed whether the scenes are of quiet pathos or stomach-churning violence, by the excellent and sure-footed Guillermo del Toro. (By the way, the `15' certificate is a bit of a surprise for me - I've seen less violent `18' films.)Both stories of the film work very well. Do they work together once the director has put them together in one place side by side? Well... almost. I enjoyed, if that's the right word, the reality scenes more than the fantasy ones but I've never been a fan of fantasy and its paraphernalia so that's probably why. Hence the four stars above instead of five.N.B. It is not a film to see if you're feeling low. It's unremittingly sombre and sad with no comic details whatsoever. The relief for a viewer comes rather in the form of the fantasy world visited by the young heroine (for us just as it does for her). There could be no happiness and laughter in this film and this makes it tough-going. It's never boring but it's certainly tough-going and this is something to bear in mind before you sit down cheerfully to watch it.All that said the film stands head, shoulders, torso what have you above most of the films released in 2006 and deserves the plaudits it has received.

Pan's labyrinth is a magical film that will keep you engrossed and delighted the whole way through. The film is set in wartime Spain and is in Spanish with subtitles. The direction is superb and the story kept me gripped the whole time, I didn't check my watch once. It is based around a Spanish regiment fighting the guerrillas and follows the step-daughter of the captain and how she cares for her pregnant mother and immerses herself in fairy tales and magic. It is wonderfully fantastical and just surreal enough to lend it an edge. All the actors play their roles brilliantly and the effects are out of this world. I guess you can tell from my already gushing review that I loved this film. It is different from the usual films churned out these days and I loved every minute. Some scenes are quite graphic in places and the violence can make you wince, but none of it is particularly gratuitous and it all plays a part in the overall story. This is well worth a view, I enjoyed it much more than I anticipated I would and it comes highly recommended.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

I was introduced to the director of this film (Guillermo del Toro) by a friend who told me to watch "The Orphanage". I bought it and was more than a little perturbed to see it was all in Spanish!! I couldn't see myself watching a foreign language film like some haughty-taughty art critic, so nearly returned it before watching it...HOW GLAD I DID NOT! "The Orphanage" happens to now be one of my favourite films of all time, and a real two-finger salute to all these tacky gore fest horror movies spilling out of hollywoodland at the moment.Any way, to the point (I know this isn't a review on the Orphanage!), because I liked that film so much, I decided to get Pan's Labyrinth since I enjoyed the directing style and the cinematography.All in all, this film also flies up to the peaks of my list of fave films... it is a BEAUTIFUL film visually, unique story, wonderfully played out, well acted (I guess! considering it's en espanol!) - if you appreciate films for their content, the thought that goes in to realising an idea in to film and are comfortable with a fantastical story line - you will simply LOVE this film

Pan's labyrinth is a magical film that will keep you engrossed and delighted the whole way through. The film is set in wartime Spain and is in Spanish with subtitles. The direction is superb and the story kept me gripped the whole time, I didn't check my watch once. It is based around a Spanish regiment fighting the guerrillas and follows the step-daughter of the captain and how she cares for her pregnant mother and immerses herself in fairy tales and magic. It is wonderfully fantastical and just surreal enough to lend it an edge. All the actors play their roles brilliantly and the effects are out of this world. I guess you can tell from my already gushing review that I loved this film. It is different from the usual films churned out these days and I loved every minute. Some scenes are quite graphic in places and the violence can make you wince, but none of it is particularly gratuitous and it all plays a part in the overall story. This is well worth a view, I enjoyed it much more than I anticipated I would and it comes highly recommended.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

I just watched this last night for the first time after it being recommended. I heard it was dark and sad but brilliant and it is. The characters are super creepy and the kid is quite brave. Not sure I would be as brave, I would be running off screaming if I met any of these characters, including the general guy. But what a stupid kid, Ah so annoying when she "you know what". Stupid stupid kid that was so annoying.besides that it was really really good and the ending was a nice and dark. the woman who plays the nanny is amazing I really liked her, she was my favourite.

Ordered to use with my A-level Spanish students. Fantastic film. Ordered the 2 disc set to make use of the extras disc and the director's commentary. I needed 11 copies so ordered via Amazon market place - bargain!

Wow, there is so many emotions explored in this film, it's very refreshing and definately not your usual fairytale. First of all, i love how Ofelia's innocence and imagination is mixed so well with the violent and dark side of her life. Its heartbreaking to watch at times, and the graphic violence is shocking, even the part with that horrid creature scared me more than the creatures from silent hill! Eek. I would have liked to see more of the labyrinth/realm and actually expected most of the plot to be set there but it actually works and makes everything alot more realistic, bringing home the fact that Ofelia is still in the real world, even if it is a painfully sad life she has to endure. Overall, this beautiful, dark, breath-taking gem of a film is one that will stick in my mind forever, i just can't believe i didnt see it sooner!!